São Paulo Police Launch 'Falso Mercúrio' Targeting PCC Money-Laundering Network

Overview

• Roughly 100 officers executed 48 search warrants and six arrest warrants in the capital and metro area, yet none of the six targets was captured and they are now considered fugitives under monitoring.
• Courts ordered the seizure of 49 properties, 257 vehicles and three vessels, and froze bank accounts tied to 20 individuals and 37 companies, with initial blocks reported at about R$98 million.
• DEIC officials said a fuller accounting could push related frozen balances much higher, with estimates reported at up to R$6 billion, and investigators displayed high-end cars among the seized assets.
• Police say the scheme used about 49 front companies across sectors and operated in three tiers—collectors, intermediaries and final beneficiaries—moving funds via low-profile transfers and boleto payments to avoid detection.
• Financial flows identified by police include deposits from target companies to Matheus Augusto de Castro Mota and onward to Kauê do Amaral Coelho, a lookout linked by investigators to the 2024 Gritzbach homicide.